Are games capable of critiquing the world in which they exist?
Using Grammarly, the grammar-checking application that isn’t quite a game as much as an interactive writing assistant, as an example: direct, immediate, “just-in-time” feedback is given to monthly subscribers; the higher the pricing tier, the more detailed and stylized the support becomes. A subscriber I recently spoke to mentioned the deep learning that happens when receiving corrections in real-time.
Do games have to be called “games” for us to enjoy and create challenges for ourselves within AI-powered software? Where does the distinction between “educational game” and “writing assistant” lie in the case of Grammarly?
Are games capable of critiquing the world in which they exist?
This past year has exposed areas of growth where we, as emerging instructional designers, may strive to nurture. As an educator, using authentic materials in the classroom was always a necessity. Now, I wonder how we can ensure that we are mindfully designing authentic digital materials for our learners.
Tangible authentic materials come from the contexts in which they are used. What do authentic digital materials look like in comparison?
An example we discussed in class was levee patroller. The step-by-step process of reporting markers and taking notes throughout felt accurate as someone who doesn’t work in the field.
Authentic language learning on apps like Duolingo and Dropps provide a number of voices that contextualize different topics and concepts.
But where does the limit lie? Is there a way to give players agency beyond options available in-game? How can we assess transfer once learners have evolved above and beyond the levels available in-game?
Post-game surveys are both comprehensive and informative for both the designer and player. I can’t help but wonder, though, how we might ask for long-term feedback from the learner to help define and organize structure in the gamespace. A mutually beneficial relationship between relevant playtesters and designers/instructors might be our best bet in tailoring the gamespace to their intended audience.
The game should be designed to be reconstructed. Good algorithms respond to player input, regardless of the designer’s intended use, with more emphasis placed on the living nature of the data repository built over time. Mckenzie Wark, in Gamer Theory, emphasizes that we “be a gamer who thinks––and acts––with a view to realizing the potentials of the game, in and against this world made over as a gamespace.” With great data comes great responsibility. To best aid in transfer from game- to life-practice, we might pay close attention to the relationship between gamespace and the world it mimics.